Date of Award

1999

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Leadership (MAL)

Department

Leadership

First Advisor

Mary Endorf

Second Advisor

Barbara Swanson

Abstract

At the time of my study, my Subject was the Director of a non-profit organization that exists to assistNative American artists in a variety of ways. The Group seeks to provide grants for artists, just as other artistic organizations do, but they go beyond that. The Group wants to assist the whole person, and so nurtures the soul as well as the artistic endeavors of the individual. Beyond this, the Group reaches out to the Native American conrmunity at large to help the people live amongst the dominant culture and retain their own culture and dignity. My Subject granted this study based on the hope that perhaps others within the various cultures within our society might come to understand that Native American people are a diverse and multi-faceted culture of people, having different tribal identities and different perceptions of life and living than other cultures represented in America today, It is not just "the red man" of steretypical B-western movies played often times by white actors. There are hundreds of Native American tribes, each with their own distinct history, lifestyle, and structure. There are also ties that bind all the tribes together, the strongest of which is to maintain distinction as a culture different from all others, rather than becoming extinct and lost forever.

Identifier

SC 11.MAL.1999.Jones.ML

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